Blog about Greyhound Friends

Learn more about the issues that animal rescue law enforcement and state agencies uncovered about the greyhound adoption group Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Greyhound Friends is closed but is trying to obtain a new kennel license, despite recent reports that they neglected sick and injured dogs.

On March 2, 2017, Boston 25 News broke the first story about allegations of Greyhound Friends mistreating dogs. Investigative reporter Bob Ward interviewed two former Greyhound Friends volunteers who reported that the animal rescue had been warehousing some dogs for years in small kennels and they were worried about the welfare of the dogs. Their statements were backed up by an animal behaviorist who had visited the kennel.

They also reported concerns about where donor money was going, stating that the charity had taken in more than $3 million dollars in the past five years yet didn't seem to have money for basic care for the dogs.

The news story revealed that the kennel had been temporarily closed due to unsafe and unsanitary conditions uncovered by the state animal inspector, MSPCA, and Animal Rescue League of Boston during multiple inspections. Reporter Bob Ward also gave Greyhound Friends Executive Director Louise Coleman an opportunity to address the allegations.

In the year since the news came out:

* Public records were uncovered that revealed numerous visits from animal welfare agencies to urge Greyhound Friends to stop engaging in practices that are harmful to dogs.

* The executive director was charged with felony animal cruelty for continuous unsanitary conditions in the kennel. The judge ordered her to stay away from the kennel and not start new kennel operations.

* A Hopkinton contractor placed a lien on the Greyhound Friends kennel due to the charity not paying him $31,000 for repair work.

* A MetroWest Daily News reporter uncovered public records showing that Greyhound Friends had been violating animal welfare regulations for decades, including confining dogs in cages that were too small, rampant overcrowding, and importing dogs without isolating them to protect the public against the spread of infectious diseases.

* Greyhound Friends Board President Stoddard Melhado wrote to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources stating that the organization terminated Executive Director Louise Coleman, but did not go so far as to say they would not hire her back in a lesser capacity.

* Executive Director Coleman's defense attorney succeeded in suppressing evidence in court, including any statements about Greyhound Friends' animal welfare violations between 1988-2015, any testimony from the state veterinary, any testimony from Greyhound Friends volunteers prior to 2015, and any testimony from an animal behaviorist related to the mental state of dogs confined for years in small cages.

* The executive director was acquitted of the animal cruelty charge for unsanitary conditions.

* A news report uncovered that Coleman was still involved with Greyhound Friends in April 2017, after the organization made public statements that she was on a leave of absence and after the judge ordered her to stay away from the kennel.

* An adopter contacted the state animal inspector after discovering that Greyhound Friends adopted a sick dog to her months after their kennel license was suspended. Records indicate that Greyhound Friends kenneled the dog at the Holliston Meadows boarding facility while he was contagious with high levels of hookworms.